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Is The HCG Diet Too Good To Be True?

MIAMI (CBS4) — Agnes Ogletree is happy her favorite jacket doesn’t fit anymore. She’s lost 28 pounds. The first 20 came off in five weeks.

“It’s just been exciting for me,” said Agnes. She has been on the HCG diet. HCG is a synthetic form of a pregnancy hormone. For decades it was only available as an injection. But that didn’t scare Kelly Vaughn.

“It’s unbelievable. I’ve lost 40 pounds. The first three weeks I lost 15 pounds,” said Kelly.

Now HCG is available in pill form, dissolved under the tongue.

“It seemed too good to be true at first,” said Dr. Marshall Sager, who offers the HCG pill to patients in his medical office.

He said there’s a body of evidence showing HCG reduces hunger, so people can stick to consuming only 500 calories a day. It’s also supposed to burn fat more efficiently.

“It mobilizes those fat stores that usually aren’t mobilized, and that’s the kind of weight that you want to lose when you’re on a diet,” said Dr. Sager.

“I’m not hungry, and I’m thinner, which is so great,” said Agnes.

The FDA has said HCG doesn’t work for weight loss, hunger control, or burning fat and the FDA has also said the HCG diet could be dangerous by increasing the risk for blood clots, depression and headaches.

“Honestly, I think it’s a complete scam,” said Dr. Anna Headly.

She said studies have shown that HCG is a fraud, and consuming only 500 calories a day is dangerous.

“That’s not a safe calorie restriction. So people will lose weight if they actually do this, but it’s not because of the HCG,” said Dr. Headly.

Dr. Sager defends the diet and reacts to critics who say the diet isn’t safe.

“I don’t know why they say it’s unsafe. I think it’s because of ignorance. They don’t understand the diet.”

Dr. Sager said his HCG tablets are specially made and include b-vitamins, a formulation that has not been specifically criticized by the FDA.

He combines the pills with a form of acupuncture that puts a tiny post in the ear, a hunger point. He said when stimulated it can improve weight loss, and it increases the well being of the patient.

Agnes said it’s not easy, but it works. She’s found the way to be 50 pounds lighter for her 50th birthday in August.

“I am in my best mental state and my best physical shape ever in my life,” said Agnes.

The HCG diet is not cheap. Dr. Sager charges $1100 for 40 days of the HCG diet, which is also available to men.

HCG is FDA approved to treat infertility, but doctors like Dr. Sager are legally able to use it off label for other treatments. However, the FDA says over-the-counter forms of HCG are unapproved new drugs and illegal.

One Comment

The Hcg diet really works. I really like. It burns the bad fat that all of us have. I have done it twice and i have lost a lot. If you cheat you won’t lose 1 lbs the next day, so try not to cheat. If you Cheat 2 days in a row you will gain a pound. So if you are not losing anything or you are gaining stop cheating! you can do this, its only for a short amount of time. I had high cholesterol and it went down and i have psoriasis and its helped so much. I also had gained wieght when i sprained my ankle and got surgery and every since i did the diet, i have lost so much wieght that my ankle feels much better.You need to drink lots of water so that your body can flush out toxins. I have stayed away from tortillas and bread, so it really does reset you hypothalamus and i have been able to keep my weight straight. If you are really looking forward to living a healthy life then maintain your weight by weighing your self every day.
Just remember the diet is only for a few days you can do it!!!!!